The High Court has issued a rule asking why guidelines for paternity leave should not be established in all institutions across Bangladesh.
The bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque issued the rule on Tuesday after a hearing on a related writ petition.
The court asked 11 respondents, including the secretaries of the Cabinet, the Ministry of Public Administration, and the Ministry of Law, to respond to the rule within four weeks.
Advocate Ishrat Hasan stood for the writ petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta and Assistant Attorney General Towfiq Sajwar Partho represented the state.
On June 3, a writ petition was filed in the High Court demanding policy guidelines for paternity leave in all institutions for employed fathers.
Lawyer Ishrat Hasan said the paternity leave policy conflicts with Articles 7, 27, 28, 29, 31, and 32 of the Constitution.
The petition argues that the notion that only mothers play a crucial role in newborn care has changed. Fathers’ roles are increasingly significant, especially in busy cities like Dhaka, where help from other family members is limited.
Moreover, the rate of cesarean deliveries is high in the country. After such operations, mothers need time to recover. New fathers find it challenging to care for their wives and newborns without paternity leave.
Neighbouring countries like India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and over 78 countries worldwide have provisions for paternity leave, it adds.